Pinball Breaker Forever (by XperimentalZ Games) Needs Beta Testers!

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by XperimentalZ, Feb 25, 2016.

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  1. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    #1 XperimentalZ, Feb 25, 2016
    Last edited: May 2, 2016
    We're thrilled to finally announce our upcoming title, Pinball Breaker Forever!

    The game merges pinball and brick breaking mechanics to produce a supercharged twitchy randomly generated endless gaming experience!

    The beta is now over, thanks to everyone who helped out!

    In short:

    - Controls will be pinball-like
    - Blocks will drop down the screen in formations and slowly move down
    - If a block reaches the bottom of the screen, you'll lose a life (A bit like Space Invaders)
    - Side tracks will roll down the sides, featuring all sort of pinball-style alternative mini games (targets, whack-a-mole, portals, ect.)
    - Blocks will have all sort of shape and behaviors (to add variety)
    - Power-ups like explosions, time freeze, fire ball, multi balls etc will be unlockable and upgradable through an in-game shop
    - The vibe for the graphics and music will be the 80's


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  2. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    #2 XperimentalZ, Feb 25, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2016
    Thanks to those who already registered for the alpha/beta!

    Here's a few images which give a idea of the game and display some of the blocks configurations along with some possible side tracks mini-games/variations:


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  3. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

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    I'm liking it! I can't wait. I love that neon retro art style! Bring it on!

    Billy
     
  4. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    Soon! We have a series of bug to fix then we'll submit the game to Apple for external beta testing. The first phase will begin next week.

    This weekend I'll try to prepare some footage to give an idea of the pace, which is supercharged compared to a standard brick breaking game.
     
  5. rIcHrAnDoM

    rIcHrAnDoM Well-Known Member
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    I love the look and premise of this one already!
     
  6. Jerutix

    Jerutix Well-Known Member

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    Wow, this makes so much sense. I'll be interested to see how this one develops.
     
  7. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

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    I like the idea of the pinball bumpers with the smaller center knob the ball can bounce off of to help you not lose it.

    I'm interested to see what those side areas do. I'm looking forward to the video.

    Billy
     
  8. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    #8 XperimentalZ, Feb 26, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2016
    Pinball controls work so well on a mobile device but it's a crowded niche. I love the brick breaker concept and history but the controls and slow pace always felt awkward to me on mobile. The urge to mix the best of both was kinda where things started from over about 17 months ago. Doing some research, I saw that this was not the first time those 2 ideas were merged but I saw nothing that filled my crave at the time. Then we decided to make it an endless game to add another twist, a bit like Breakfinity (brick breaker + endless) which is quite cool but much lighter features wise. Adding the side tracks mini-games in order to push the pinball side was the final idea at which point we thought we had a sweet angle.


    Yeah this was a balance thingy that we played with at some point. Trying to break a brick in the middle of the screen was often punitive. That said, at this time the game is not based on a number of balls but a number of lives. You can lose as many balls as you want but when you lose one, your multiplier drop and the blocks board drops by an abrupt amount.

    The footage won't be able to demonstrate them all. Right now they are divided in 'configurations', 'traps' and 'mini-games'.

    Configurations:
    - All sorts of angled deformations of the walls, which can affect the bounces

    Traps:
    - Portals, teleporting the ball from one side to the other
    - Black holes that trap and launch randomly the ball after a delay

    Mini-Games:
    - Whack-a-mole for multiplier bonuses
    - Hit 3 targets on both sides for a life bonus
    - Hit targets in the right order for a score bonus
    - Series of bumpers on both sides for score bonus

    And we're still planning to add more
     
  9. Sash-O

    Sash-O Well-Known Member

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    Looks good, will give it a try!:)
     
  10. rezn

    rezn Well-Known Member
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    This looks like a ton of fun!! I'm a big fan so I will email you right away. :)
     
  11. vectorarchitekt

    vectorarchitekt Well-Known Member

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    Definitely hoping to test this one.
     
  12. Hulkino

    Hulkino Well-Known Member

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    Signed in for the beta!!
     
  13. Hoodin

    Hoodin Well-Known Member

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  14. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    Added you to the list, with a good bunch of other applicants, which is cool :).

    The hard limit of applicants through Testflight is like 2000, we'll never reach that. This means that everyone who wish to be in will have a chance to help out at one point or another. It's just unclear yet if we're going to split players in waves or allow everyone in right off the bat and hope that the thread will be active enough to generate new applications for later in the beta (the testing period should be around 6-8 weeks).

    A common issue is to have the group wearing out through beta as they move on to other games and end up with too few people for the final testing phase. We'll see what happens!
     
  15. mj132

    mj132 Well-Known Member

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  16. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

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    Once I start testing something I feel an obligation to finish it.

    Unless the game sucks. So don't make the game suck.

    Hehehehheehe

    Billy
     
  17. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    #17 XperimentalZ, Feb 27, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2016
    Added!

    lol I sure hope so!


    It looks like the game is in a stable shape right now so we're about to submit it to Apple for external testing.
    The process usually takes 3-7 days. The following submissions will be much quicker to go through.
     
  18. Jayg2015

    Jayg2015 Well-Known Member

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    What a great combination .
    Style and all.
    Like to try this one out
     
  19. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    The pinball controls allowed us to approach the brick breaking genre from a different angle by building up on a higher pace and precision. Most maps are built around a weak point that will help you wipe it out if you aim at the right place. With this approach, it turned out that it was cool to display power-ups (instead of being hidden like in a standard brick breaking form). This means that when a blocks formation appear, you can read it, figure out how to use the power-ups to your advantage and try to aim precisely.

    That's what I tried to convey in this first gif, because it captures the essence of the game quite well.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

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    Oh SH**!

    The blocks move down towards the bottom? What? I don't think this has EVER been done before has it? I don't know how I missed you saying this before. This adds an entirely new take on the whole thing. It adds stress to it. It's great!

    Wow. Come on Apple approve the damn test flight. I can't wait!

    You guys really making effing great games!

    Billy



     

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